The Secretary of Domestic Commerce, Roberto Feletti, assured that the concept of a “regulated basket” of mass consumer products was installed, which is fulfilled to a “high degree” in values and supply, and stressed the need for a decoupling between prices. internal and international to guarantee consumption.
“Our objective is to stop the acceleration of prices in the first 15 days of October and to agree on a regulated basket of more than 1,400 shelf products that reflect the standard and the average consumption profile of Argentines”, explained Feletti in dialogue with radio La Red.
According to the official, “we were able to install the regulated basket concept (…) and a very good degree of acceptance both in price and in supply is being met”; and he announced that he works with all the links in the sector “proposing a consensus proposal for January 8”.
In the case of meat, wheat and corn, Feletti raised the need to decouple domestic prices from international ones.
“We see a rise in international prices (and next year it will continue), so if there is no decoupling policy in corn, wheat and meat, it is not possible to sustain the price policy that we have been carrying out”
“We see a rise in international prices (and next year it will continue), so if there is no decoupling policy in corn, wheat and meat, it is not possible to sustain the price policy that we have been carrying out,” he said.
For the secretary, “Prices have to be decoupled to guarantee the supply of the domestic market”.
“It can be through any tool: decoupling, quota, withholdings or even an agreement, crossing prices,” he explained.
After highlighting the “very good dialogues” he had with the leaders of the meat sector, he warned that they “want a business plan that allows them to export a million tons of meat” which “would mean that we Argentines are going to consume less meat”.
“If there is no decoupling, the international demand for food and meat specifically, will make us Argentines have to change our diet for the worse and eat less meat; if we do not work with a criterion of, we supply the market first internally and then exported at differential prices, we are in trouble, “he reiterated.
In that sense, he pointed out that “they are thinking of increasing the supply of meat so that the installed price drops a little, but as a more medium-term trend, decoupling should be considered because, if not, we will not be able to sustain the regulated basket “.
